There are some places on this beautiful planet that lend themselves perfectly to certain events, the Montreux Jazz Festival is a case in point, stretched out on the shore of Lac Leman, the setting is stunning, greatly enhancing the music on offer. Maybe Thomas Sturchi and Marco Godat had this in mind when they founded the Zermatt Unplugged music festival in 2007. Zermatt is a pretty and compact Swiss village with a fascinating history and a draw for people worldwide in both summer and winter. It could be described as cosy, sheltered as it is on three sides by mountains with the magnificent Matterhorn at it’s head watching over the village below. A perfect venue for an intimate festival.
Thomas had a background in staff recruitment and sold his business to diversify in to the entertainment industry, Marco was involved in a top Swiss talent agency so it was a perfect match between two can-do people with a vision to start something special in Zermatt. Initially conceived as a singer-songwriter festival, the first event held in 2007 was a success and unique in Switzerland as the only festival of it’s kind. However Thomas and Marco felt that the one man and his guitar idea was perhaps a little limited so they decided to open it up somewhat for the 2008 edition and widen the scope but still remain acoustic in essence.
The Zermatt Unplugged event is held annually in early April in nine venues around the village. The intimate nature of the venues creates a winning ambience that brings out the best in the artists booked to perform. No massive, hanger like stadiums here, all the venues were chosen for their cosy and intimate nature. Perhaps the pick of the venues are the main tent, erected specially by around 170 workers, 100 of them volunteers, setting up and dismantling approximately 140 tons of material, for each festival. The main tent has a capacity of 1,800 seats and is the largest of the venues. The other stand out venue is The Vernissage Club, with a 500 seat capacity, designed by the re-known Zermatt artist and architect, Heinz Julen.
There was a hiccup in 2009 when the administration of the municipality and the festival organisers could not agree on a common date, so the event didn’t happen that year but in late 2009 long term financial and logistical support was agreed by the community thus ensuring the events longevity. Intimate venues and settings and the unique ambience helped by the layout of Zermatt have also ensured the event has established itself on the calendar. As word of mouth has spread an ever growing list of top artist, enthusiastic about the festival and wanting to perform there has grown, the event has certainly attracted some top names, among them, Suzanne Vega, Alanis Morissette, Jason Mraz, Lionel Ritchie, Chris de Burgh and Seal to name a few.
The 2014 edition is a five day event starting on April 8th and is set to build on the solid foundations laid down so far as the festival goes from strength to strength. Among the artists slated to appear are Aloe Blacc, Jamie Cullum, Tom Odell, Mick Hucknall and Katie Melua amongst others. If Thomas and Marco remain true to their initial philosophy the event will remain intimate and acoustic, perhaps never growing to rival the Montreux Jazz festival but after all small is beautiful as anyone who has attended this charming and unique festival will agree.